Woman told she deserves the sack after 'grim' behaviour work Christmas party
A woman has been told she should "expect a disciplinary" at work after her behaviour at a work's Christmas party.
'Tis the season to have a some fun after working all year long. But, what starts of as a bit of fun can turn into a serious matter if you are not careful. As the drinks start flowing, it is not uncommon for people to get swept away or spill their true feelings about their work environment.
Some workers wake up feeling totally embarrassed by harmless fun but others might be expecting their P45 if they are not careful. One woman, who works in the public sector, has shared her concern after she got drunk at a work Christmas doo and was "handsy and seedy" with one of her male colleagues. Now she is "convinced" she is going to get the sack.
The individual, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained that she went for drinks with people from her department before the Christmas party. When they turned up to main event, they were "very drunk". Upon arrival, everyone was dancing and the female worker "felt sorry for" one of her "shy" male colleagues from a different department.
"I pulled him over to dance and got pretty handsy with him - hands all over his bum and pulled him closer," the woman explained in a Reddit post post. The incident generated a lot of stares and comments from party goers.
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The Reddit user, who attended the party earlier this week, confessed: "In my mind I was just having fun and including him, although I can see how it probably looked a bit seedy. Towards the end of the night he pulled me round the corner away from the group. I’m hazy at this point, but I’m pretty sure he tried to kiss me.
"I know I didn’t kiss him back, and shocked he was being so forward. Another colleague bobbed round the corner and pulled me away and I was taken home."
She added: "Woken up this morning convinced I am going to be sacked. I’ve taken advantage of him and shouldn’t have touched him. There would have been tons of people that saw me touching him but no one seemed really bothered."
The woman asked Reddit users for any advice on how to deal with the awkward dilemma. One individual said: "That's really grim behaviour on your part. I think you need to apologise to him at the very least and hope there's no HR involvement."
Another wrote: "Yeah, not great behaviour but also incredibly common at Christmas nights out. Was talking to a friend yesterday about how weird it is that once a year people get drunk and behave outrageously with people they work with, it’s a bit bizarre when you think about it."
A third said: "Awful, creepy behaviour. That shy man must feel mortified." Another advised: "Mortified for you and I'd be reeling at the thought of going in next week.
"It's done now though and you can't go back in time and change anything so I'd apologise to the man in question, hope nothing more comes of it and never ever attend a work do drunk again."
"Expect a disciplinary on Monday," said another. One other commented: "You have been really inappropriate. Even if he doesn't say anything, I hope your boss does.
"You can't just feel a colleague. Apologies and don't drink at work events if you cannot behave appropriately."
Employment law specialists at BDBF LLP detail on their website what this kind of work party behaviour means. A lawyer said: "Sexual harassment does not have to take place in the workplace itself.
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"It could take place outside the workplace and/or outside of working hours at work-related events. For example, sexual harassment which takes place at a client's office or at a work party may still amount to sexual harassment."
If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
Do you have a Christmas story to share? Get in touch via [email protected].
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